Everyone must obey the nation's laws

Everyone must obeythe nation's laws EDITOR: This letter is about the recent findings of Congressman Jim Traficant's alleged illegal behavior. It was stated in the paper that the FBI had been following up on Traficant's deeds for some 10 years. During this period, while the congressman was supposedly getting away with this, the FBI knew about it. What I want to know is if it really took 10 years to get all the evidence needed to put a stranglehold on Traficant. If it did, that is fine by me because everyone did his job except for the congressman. Now, hopefully, justice will be served for all alleged wrongdoing, but a little voice in the deep dwelling of my brain says that somehow this could have all been settled a lot sooner. Did it really take or should it have taken that long a period of time to see that something like a congressmen's taxes weren't being paid? That seems dumb to me. If it were any other American citizen, they would have been busted in two to five years, tops, unless they were terribly good at hiding their evasion. This shows how corrupt the system is that if you are in high position you have the chance to play king and not abide by the law of the land that has been set up for everyone to follow. I hope that in the future no one will go above another and that everyone is subject to the same punishment. MATT HALLETT North Jackson X The writer is a sophomore at Jackson-Milton High School. Arena project offers many opportunities for growth EDITOR: First of all, let me congratulate President of Council Charles Sammarone and the Youngstown City Council on their selection of the site for the arena project between the Market and South Avenue bridges. The project will help in the growth of the downtown area. Those of us who have moved to the suburbs of Poland, Boardman, Canfield, etc. have to realize that we still are Youngstown, and as Youngs town goes, so do we. It doesn't take a Rhodes Scholar to see what other cities have done along their riverfronts. Just drive to Cleveland, Columbus and Pittsburgh or even smaller communities such as Cuyahoga Falls, Akron and Warren. It wasn't too long ago the DeBartolo Corp. wanted to invest millions of its dollars to develop that very area with hotels, casinos and restaurants, but the naysayers said gambling would create a bad image for us. Well, I'm not a gambler, but if that is true let's stop the Ohio Lottery and bingo -- after all gambling is gambling, right? I think we blew that one. How about the proposed baseball stadium? The powers that be said "build it and they still won't come." Thank God the Cafaro people didn't feel that way because now Trumbull County has the Scrappers, and they're among the teams drawing the largest crowds in the minor leagues. In addition to the baseball games played there, just look at the concerts held there and the big names they attract. As a past chairman of the Greater Youngstown Italian Festival for four years as well as serving on that committee for another 11 years, I've witnessed, first hand, the huge crowds that festivals can attract. Maybe another avenue to pursue would be to appoint someone as special events coordinator for other ethnic festivals and events, maybe even an international festival involving all the nationalities. I currently promote two or three Italian dinner shows a year at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, which raises another question for me: Will there be kitchen facilities at the arena and/or a caterer available for such shows? And finally, will there be retail space available for outside vendors to rent -- sort of a mini-Station Square as in Pittsburgh? Keep up the good work and don't let any personal agendas get in the way. TONY TROLIO Poland